The Clifton clarion., 1887-04-20
IE JU MPED THE
 GAME.
--z WEES GAIE oF PoIEl.
Notable Players in the Days Wb n NSaey Was Plenty st tas
 CS2.ui.

"Talking about poker playing" ob- served an old WJShng,On.an, "tno .,l:nc in its glory h,s practically come ! io an enj in the federal capital.
 When 1 speak oi poker playing I m,an the game inlulged in by gen g.emen. not prolc sSional gamblers. l suring the war, when money was ! r caty, the game Lousishcl apace, ! uct after tine wa, when all soTls ot | sch;mes yielded rich harvestanltimes were good, then were the haicyol ! days oi draw poker. When bc,I
 branches of Congress- were largc.y i Eepuol;cIn anal the Treasury vaGli5 ! were opened wide through the pay
 III mt O. wI- claims ani various other 1 mnney-yicldinz processes, gaming n at is branches, 6o,h public and ! private, Was commonly indGl.ed in. ! When the D.s;-i,.t oi Columbia was ! 7 ven terIito al government and | Meek Shcpherd indu-urated his 1 granl scheme of iw1roVementS, c1- | pending some $23 ,Elf, ,JJ1, money was l p.enty 2s black he.r.e; and a,moSt every body po~sesseJ pf influence got
 q slice, directly or indirectly. Gov eTnor Shepheri starte.i the Washing ! ton Club, with an initiation lee of ! l01. a Eia-n .!iccntir appointed man
 sion was plrchl -ej and then h.os- somed forth in fui. lruitiou. Poker 1 ttules we kept running night and ! day, and money by the cUrd changed bands. Why, the sum oj S1 ,GJ1 was | a mere fee bite, hardly sufficient 10 ! get in with and lasg an hour.
 ] rrI, u.,,,..i ir.et .,,t.Nr ,,lu--o- i, ! Washington at that tune WAS e-- | Con-re ssuiaa Eboa C. Iuecrsou, of ! Illinois, commonly known as Clark ] lrse. soil, Bob Iu-,isoli's brother. l He played the game for all it was
 worth, and was usually successful in
 winning large sums.
 "Fernan;lo Wool was also poker
 player of the first class, almost, if not | quite, equal to q professional. Many | q member of Congress las dropped | his last dollar at Fernando's tab.e and mortgl-el his future pay to the ! . per centcrs to ger home with. Fer
 nando was the coolest headed carder | 1 ever saw Whatever the pay, | great or small, winner or loser on tIe ! hand, he never hl.nchcd q musrlS | nor turned q hair. Cold. calm, and
 impcnetrablc, he played the game without tiuIe oi emotion and as [ immobile as milestone. He rarely iOst, even among the hest of gertle-
 man players, ana never permitted ] himself 10 sympa h;s, with the "nests ! he made his victims. He always glve good suppcrs. however, and | many splendid 'icai' has been en- ! joyel at his mansion on Fifteenth | street, at this date occupied by John i Cham bcrlin'S res a rant.
 "ICe haHee, c, O crado, delighted ! iH playing D kcr when a dele -a,c and | senator in Congress, bu. Joe could l never p,av the strength of the game. ! iiA was $ cunnin. oil fox on stocking | mining properties aai selling land ! r.I.mS. and coIl1 get away with the | best Oi the land sharks in such deals; | but in poker p ayirE he was the yer,est | tyro. although he Ia 1o-cd under the ! dtlu-ion th..t he GHde stood the game. | Tnc consequence was the boys ate 1 h m up, dividing him out q few hHn- ] d-ei apiece al every sitting. iu fact,
 they kept him we;-nu.sed for that ! pu.pOsa, and the swas he made Fl outside schemes paid a large percent ! a-e of tLge, tret, and dsbcntuTe at | ragds. Joe was d goisend to the | hoys, and enabled them to pay for
 mInv a wine dinner at Welcker's, ! iailo.s' bills. opera tickets. and the | ljze. Ept, bless your soul, he did
 mt reSlize it.
 "Sena;cr Tom RnhrrtFon, of South 1 Carolina, man ci wealth, w,is inor-
 dina ely fond oi poscr, hut usnally
 suush; game he was likely 10 beat. He never ;o1il inc h ch Inces or lost 1 MIch money. When he struck
 game st which he as oyerma'ch,i | ant lost, the suggestion that he could 1 have his cyen.e whenever he desired ! yielded him little satisfaction. lie ! preferred seeking s1tjs.acl fem
 out some other less formidable poker party. When he G sC0yerel suit abe crowd lie lost 10 opportunity to
 make them pay well :oc lI.s Senatorial company. Occasionally he caught
 i;;rar, but his rule was to play in a sane he ccU!I LC $ tc lis l.ca-t's
 content.
 ">era:oc Nesm;tl. of Ore-un, n.
 gently deceased. !uay be included
 within iEc Cl;eEpry of the COser
 kings. IL is rel.,toi tat he played
 in a game O To.:c. oa one occasion at To ;!aud. Gre ron. continuously iaT
 siN weeks. Ben ilo.l.iay and RGie Ingalls, were ia the same game. At tine conn! ,nagMcl. ol the Serenth
 week i, incidentally occurel to ! NcSm.tii thl. Ic i.A-i lett hone i11
 only q few days sol"l;n at lor,lJ1l, and had n5t provided his wife with
 sufficient magcy tT a longer. Per
 h&ps sine v-s5 S,s-y;.!, O. hs! been
 forced to hvE .ou.i on nciShborS.
 The thought Wa mad ieri"g, and
 the loagrr !.e dv r.t "roa the 2o3sihle
 condition in which his deser.ed fam ! ily might be p:acai ;h uI.h his in-
 iatUAtion for poker playing the mora
 moody he hec&nc H. cOIid stand
 the ha rowing reflection no longer,
 and. rising from h.- scLt, exc.aimei:
 Gentlemen, yoI must eXcuse
 na. am going straight hcne. pos
 Si5ly to find Arl. Ntsmth starved to
 dca:h 1 let her only so when I
 ramc away expecting to return in .
 week Here l have been pIavIng
 poker fer Six long weeks and forgot
 all ab9Tt hc-. fl;s :s cruel. I am
 too wretche;l to play longer, and must
 go hon, d on.e. l am few hun-
 d:edS winner, it is tue. bat heaven
 grant that .. 3. ., G!...i Is not cold
 corpse. Ii she is it i> my fault, and
 you are party rasTo2,.blc.'
 Ben Holiday, who wou!d rsthcr
 play poker than eat being loser in
 the game, became aLgry bacausr his
 friend Nesmi.h insisted upon Feturn-
 ing home. He a once biurted oat =
 'Ncsmith, don't believe word
 of your internal wife story You're
 ahead anI want to jump the game.
 Why doa't yoI say so, like 2 nm, ! nnl unt law | nl -aur Mlln- Nnu